Ira Bowman Thompson (April 9, 1889 – August 10, 1973) was a politician, Ku Klux Klan leader, and attorney from the U.S. state of Alabama.
Ira B. Thompson | |
|---|---|
 Thompson cropped from the 1947 composite members photo of the Alabama House of Representatives | |
| Member of the Alabama House of Representatives from the Crenshaw County district | |
| In office 1943–1951 | |
| Preceded by | Walter Lee Petrey |
| Succeeded by | Vernon Shelley Summerlin |
| Member of the Alabama House of Representatives from the Baldwin County district | |
| In office 1915 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ira Bowman Thompson April 9, 1889 Bay Minette, Alabama |
| Died | August 10, 1973 (aged 84) Luverne, Alabama |
| Political party | Democratic[1] |
| Other political affiliations | Ku Klux Klan (1920s) |
| Spouse |
Eugenia Marie Little
(m. 1917) |
| Children | Mary Eugenia |
| Residence | Luverne, Alabama |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States National Guard[1] |
| Years of service | c. late 1910s, c. early 1940s |
| Rank | Captain[1] |
| Battles/wars | World War I, World War II |
Thompson was born to Albert and Laura (née Crabtree) Thompson at Bay Minette, Alabama in 1889.[1] After attending school in Bay Minette, Thompson attended the University of Alabama and Meridian College in Mississippi, graduating from the latter in 1910.[1] Thompson then entered into military service, eventually becoming Captain of Company B of the 1st Alabama Infantry in 1915. He also served a brief term in the Alabama House of Representatives as a representative for Baldwin County in that same year.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1916 but he was quickly called into federal military service in 1917 when he was sent to France in 1918 to command a Prisoner of War camp until the prisoners were repatriated back to Germany in 1919.[1] After his return to the United States, Thompson opened a law practice in Luverne, Alabama and arranged Battery A of the 141st Field Artillery in the National Guard, which he would later resign from in 1932.[1]
Thompson was an active member of the local Ku Klux Klan organization in Crenshaw County and Luverne in the late 1920s, serving as the exalted cyclops[2] of the Crenshaw KKK around 1927 and 1928.[3] In October 1927, Thompson, along with 35 other suspected Klansmen were all indicted by the Crenshaw County grand jury on the basis of their participation of floggings throughout the county.[4][5] The case, however was dropped later in December by the attorney general's withdrawal on his belief that the state police had assisted the Klan.[6] Less than a year after Thompson's indictment, Governor Bibb Graves appointed him the prosecuting attorney of Crenshaw County.[7][8]
In 1927, Thompson was appointed solicitor of Luverne, and was re-elected to two more consecutive terms in 1928 and 1932.[1] He was called back to active military service in 1942 when he was a captain in the military police corps. He had previously served as the attorney for Crenshaw County since 1941.[1] He sat once again in the Alabama House of Representatives, this time for Crenshaw County as a Democrat from 1943 until 1951.[9][10]
Thompson married Eugenia Marie Little in 1917. They had one child, Mary Eugenia.[1] He was an active community member, sitting on the state athletic commission, Luverne's education board, founding the Lurverne Bank and Trust Company, and serving as a member in the local Lion's Club, Red Cross and American Legion. He also taught Sunday school at his church for over 30 years.[1] He died in 1973 in Luverne.[11]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1947". Digital.archives.alabama.gov. February 1, 1948. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ Feldman, Glenn (September 1999). Politics, society, and the Klan in Alabama, 1915-1949 - Glenn Feldman - Google Books. University of Alabama Press. ISBN 9780817309831. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ ""The Whip Wins", by William G. Shepherd, Collier's Weekly, January 14, 1928, pp. 10-11". January 14, 1928.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Hooded Order Menace, Says Alabama Man". The Pittsburgh Press. October 20, 1927. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ Special to The New York Times. (October 16, 1927). "INDICT 36 KLANSMEN IN ALABAMA COUNTY - Special Grand Jury Returns 102 True Bills and Denounces Leaders in Floggings. - Article - NYTimes.com". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ [ Displaying Abstract ] (June 10, 2012). "KLANSMEN'S TRIAL ENDS IN ALABAMA FLOGGINGS - Attorney General Charges That State Police Helped Klan and Quits the Case. - Article - NYTimes.com". Select.nytimes.com. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ "Indicted Man Is Given State Job". Evening Independent. May 17, 1928. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ "National Affairs: In Alabama". TIME. May 28, 1928. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ "Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1943". Digital.archives.alabama.gov. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ "Alabama Official and Statistical Register, 1951". Digital.archives.alabama.gov. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ Nelson roots: the genealogy of the Nelson and allied families of Baldwin ... - Google Books. February 28, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2012.